~Chapter Forty- Four~

Game of Fate

~Part 2~

Rose was stunned and kept her hands over her mouth as she stared down at her best friend. She couldn't believe that she was here. But, it wasn't a good thing she was.

Emily looked dead inside and like she'd been through hell.

Literally.

The blood on her battered and pale face was old, by maybe a day or two, and was crusted to her face and disheveled medium-length blonde hair. Her hands and feet were tied up in chains, her lip was swollen and had an old cut split on it, a dried-up cut on her forehead, and bloodstains on her white tee-shirt and jeans.

But, she was alive, and for that, Rose was relieved.

However, it didn't seem real that this was happening. Emily seemed to be thinking the same thing as she looked over the change of her appearance, from her body to her face, eyes, and wings.

"Oh my God," she gasped out, half-relieved, half- terrified. "Rose? Is- is that you?"

Unable to speak, Rose merely nodded her head shakily.

"Wha- what is going on?" she choked out. "Rose, where in the hell am I? And who are all these people?"

Rose opened her mouth to answer her, unsure where to start, but Demetrius suddenly pressed the blade tighter against Emily's neck, making her squeal out and jump.

"That's enough talk. I didn't bring your best friend into this to have you socialize as if it were a lazy Sunday afternoon."

"No! Father, please-" Rose cut in shakily, holding her hand out to stop him. "Please, I beg of you, don't hurt her!"

His amber eyes shot up to hers. "If you want your precious friend to live, then give the death curse back to me so I may continue with my plans for this world."

Like a gaping fish, Rose opened and shut her mouth but didn't know what to say or do.

"Don't give it to him, Rose!" Emily suddenly shot out, her voice husky from the blade's pressure. "I know enough of what he's explained to me. He told me that you are his daughter and that he plans to wipe out the entire world with this death curse! Which is awful! He-" she cut out, took two painful swallows, then burst out in a sob, "he used it and killed Chris, Katie, and my newborn baby boy. Daniel was his name. I… he was born three weeks ago, and now, they are all gone. My babies! My family! All gone."

Emily paused again and took a gasping breath, with tears streaming down her face, and Rose could have died right then upon hearing those words. Hearing that her family was dead was like a shot to the heart.

"A bright purple light took them all away and reduced their bodies to ash," Emily continued to sob, telling her story. "Kevin was there too and beat me up. This Lord of the Dead then took me away, held me prisoner in a dungeon, and now I'm here in front of you. But, I don't know why! Rose, I'm scared! I'm so scared. In one mad moment, everything has changed, and you- you've changed! You're no longer the best friend I once knew. I mean, my God, my family is dead, and I'm now all alone."

Tears were streaming down Rose's face upon hearing this, and above her grief, rage- hotter than ever before- entered her soul.

Chris, her sweet Katie-bug, and a newborn baby boy she had never got to meet had all taken from this curse.

Innocent lives, now destroyed.

She clenched her hands into fists and gritted her fangs at Demetrius. He, however, smiled mockingly at her, sensed her despair, and knew what questions were running through her mind.

"I retrieved Emily from her home the moment you left with your Gargoyle mate, three hours ago," he explained in a whisper. "Right when you made your decision to leave Hel and break your deal with me, I knew I had to find something to make you pay. Torturing you wasn't going to be enough, nor would torturing your mate. I had to think about something that would utterly destroy your soul, and I quickly did. I ventured into the mortal world, found your best friend with whom is the very last reminder and tie to your human life, took her hostage, and then tested my death curse on her young family. I would say that it worked quite well."

He flashed a wicked smile at her, making her blood boil, and Rose could barely hear the last of his words.

"But, don't worry, my daughter. As your mother has most likely told you, children cannot dwell within the mortal underworld. The young children's deaths were quick, painless, and dare-I-say… merciful."

Rose stopped hearing.

A humming filled her ears, and she suddenly felt feral, wild. Killing him was all she could think about.

Launching herself forward with a shriek, she held the curse in one hand and went to maim him with her other. She didn't care how she did it, but she wanted to kill, bite, kick, scratch, and shatter the glass ball over his head. Anything to wipe that smirk off his face and make him hurt as much as she was hurting, but Brooklyn's arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and stopped her in mid-launch.

"Rose, no!" he urged in her ear, pulling her back. "Not yet. Not yet!"

But she ignored Brooklyn's words and kept fighting to get to Demetrius. "He killed… he- he…" The words wouldn't come, and Brooklyn wrapped his arms even tighter around her.

When he spoke, he pressed his lips so hard against her hair they were almost inside of her ear.

"If you attack now, he'll kill Emily. We've got to time this right."

"But, he-!"

"We'll kill him, Rose," Brooklyn whispered earnestly. "We'll rip every inch of him apart; I promise you that. Demetrius is a dead man for what he's done to Emily and her family."

Rose was panting now, but somehow her mate's low and soothing words had cut through her wild flailing, and she stopped fighting against his hold.

But, the pain was too much for her to handle calmly.

Chris, Emily, Katie, and this new baby were her family, and their deaths were a personal attack. A very personal attack.

Rose slowly looked back up into her father's gleeful eyes and pointed a threatening finger at him. "You're going to die for what you've done!"

"Oh, am I?" Demetrius breathed, still holding the dagger tightly against Emily's extended neck. "I am immune to the Death Curse, as you are, but more than that, I am the Lord and Master of Death. What can you possibly do to stop me?"

"I can plunge Excalibur deep into your heart and cut it out, for one example," Rose hissed, "or use it to slice your head off your shoulders for another and let the Draugr have at your flesh. You choose."

"Hmm, sounds exciting."

Demetrius smirked, then pushed the blade into Emily's neck, hard enough to draw a small amount of blood that ran down her neck and over his hand. Emily cried out, flailed, then froze at the pain. "Is that what I should do to your friend here?"

Rose winced. "Don't!"

"Give me the death curse, then," Demetrius hissed. "This is the last time I will ask before I kill her."

Rose clenched the staff in her hands, noting the seriousness of his words and threat, but she still couldn't hand it over. She glanced over at Brooklyn for any sign of what she should do, but her mate's face mirrored the distraught and panic that she was feeling.

Her best friend's life was at risk, but still, it was no easy decision to make. If she gave up the death curse to her father, he was going to destroy billions of innocent human and mortal lives, including the immortals, to a curse she still wasn't sure yet how to stop.

But, if she didn't-

"Don't give it to him, Rose!" Emily suddenly cried out again. "If you do, billions of innocent people are going to die!"

As Rose looked into Emily's eyes and peered into her soul, she saw the terrified desperation, fear, pain, and unimaginable grief, but there was also something else. After a few seconds, Rose figured it out, and her heart nearly shattered.

Emily was silently saying good-bye.

"Don't give it to him! Fight, Rose! You and the Gargoyles fight! Do whatever it takes to win, just-" she stopped, took a deep breath, then whispered breathlessly, "just, let me go. Okay?"

Rose's eyes widened in horror. "What? No, I-"

"Let your father take my life," Emily whispered tearfully. "That way, I'll be reunited with my family, once again, and I won't be alone."

Lowering her gaze, Rose didn't want to look into Emily's eyes or acknowledge her last wishes. But, then again, if this situation were reversed, Emily would have respected her wishes, no matter how difficult of a decision it was to make. But she wasn't strong or brave like Emily was.

Shaking her head, Rose exhaled a sob. She couldn't do it.

"No."

"Rose… look at me." Emily's voice shook while another sob left Rose's mouth.

"No."

"Rose."

Rose forced herself to look into her best friend's face again and didn't want to see the peace in her eyes—the surety of her decision, but it was there and instantly pierced through her heart.

"Em, no," Rose begged. "Don't ask that of me, please."

Emily took a staggering breath through her sob. "It's okay," she breathed. "Let me go, Rose."

Rose swallowed down bile and half-yelled out, "No, I won't!"

"Please, Rose, if you love or care about me at all, you'll do this for me. But, before you do, I just want you to know that I love you, and I'm so sorry for everything. I wish we never left you the way we did, after our apartment fire, when Katie was in the hospital. I regretted that conversation every single day. Please, Rose, I ask that you forgive me."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Rose forced out in a voice that didn't sound like hers. The pain and grief were crushing her soul from the inside out, including her vocal cords. "You… there's… there's nothing to forgive, Em. It's only I who wishes to beg for your forgiveness." She shook her head and let out a sob as she clenched the curse in her hands even tighter. How could she say what was on her mind and heart when there wasn't enough time?

After a few seconds, she choked out, "I never wanted this, Em. Any of this."

Emily smiled warmly, shook her head, and let out a small laugh.

"I know, honey, I know. It's okay. It will all be okay. Just… let me go. Alright? Please. Don't give the curse to him. Just let me go."

"Rose," Demetrius warned through gritted teeth, and between both of their requests, Rose felt cornered. Her heart was pounding, and her mind was screaming.

Time had slowed down, and she wasn't sure how to make this decision. She ignored Demetrius's warning and continued to stare at Emily, thinking over her words and wishes, sobbing silently and pleading back with her.

"I… I can't," Rose finally breathed back. "I can't do it, Em."

"Please," Emily begged with tears streaming down her face. "Please, Rose. Let me go and be with Chris, Katie, and my baby again! It's the only thing I ask as my final wish, and I know it's not fair for me to ask so much of you, but I know you have the strength to do it."

Rose could barely hold the staff anymore because she was shaking so badly. Needing more guidance, she looked over at Goliath and silently begged him for an answer and help, but even he didn't seem to know what to say.

Behind him, the Gargoyles' faces were masks of horror, sorrow, and intense fear. They all knew the risks if she handed the curse over, but if she didn't, an innocent human life was about to be slaughtered needlessly.

"Goliath," Rose begged, her voice shaking, but he didn't answer her. Hudson, however, did.

"Respect her wishes, lass," he whispered with tears in his good eye. "Let her go. Don't give the curse to him."

Rose's face fell in pure torment, wishing for any other choice and wishing that Hudson wasn't right. Letting out a moan, she whipped back to look at Emily, still desperately trying to find any way out of this nightmare.

"Is that your final answer then?" Demetrius breathed excitedly, taking Hudson's words as her answer, but Rose still couldn't speak. Her lips and mouth were trembling from her sobbing, and nothing was coming out. She couldn't allow her best friend to die, but she also couldn't seem to give up the curse to Demetrius. Both were double-edged swords waiting to stab and rip her heart out.

Brooklyn suddenly stepped up to her, wrapped his arm around her small rounded stomach, and pressed his face into her hair again.

"Rose..." he breathed, and just by merely speaking her name and being there for her, it was enough to feel comforted. He was holding onto her with everything he had, knowing that she was about to shatter into a million pieces.

"I love you, Emily," Rose whispered, unable to say anything more, but with a gasp in relief, Emily smiled, knowing that she was going to respect her wishes.

"Thank you, Rose."

Demetrius moved the jagged dagger from Emily's neck with an enraged snarl and stared at Rose with ice-cold death in his eyes.

"So," he seethed with bared fangs. "This is your choice? You're going to forfeit your best friend's life just to spite me?"

Rose's jaw trembled and tightened her grip on Brooklyn's arm, still not looking away from Emily, and gave him silence for her answer.

"Fine," he hissed. "So, be it…"

Rose gripped Brooklyn's arm tighter, waiting for him to slice the dagger into Emily, but with a flick of his wrists, the blade disappeared.

Then-

"WRAITH!"

Rose's face paled as she gasped out, "no!" but couldn't seem to move fast enough to stop him or what was about to happen.

The Draugr guard landed next to him and Emily almost immediately with his razor-sharp teeth grinding excitedly like knives. Demetrius threw Emily at his feet, and his voice was calm and light as he said, "Dinner."

"NO! NO! NOOOOOO!"

Screaming, Rose jumped out of Brooklyn's grasp to stop him, but Demetrius threw a shield up between her and Emily to stop her.

Pounding on the shield, Rose screamed and sobbed at the top of her lungs and watched helplessly as Wraith pounced onto Emily. Like a wild animal to its prey, he clamped his sharp teeth down into her fragile abdomen with an explosion of blood.

Emily's screams of torment filled the room, and Rose's world shattered and faded into blackness.

Rose was dead.

Or dying.

Either way, the second Wraith began eating her best friend alive, she was sure that she had keeled over and died from a broken heart. But, sensations, sounds, and thoughts were still running through her chaotic mind, and it was clear to her suddenly that she couldn't be dead.

Death wasn't this cruel, painful, or... loud.

Over a loud humming in her ears, Rose heard the sickening sounds of bones snapping in half, flesh being ripped apart, and the horrendous gurgling and spurting of blood sloshing out like a waterfall.

It was sickening and horrible.

Rose wanted to go back to the peaceful blackness she was once in, even if it was for a few seconds more, to escape everything. However, over the awful sounds in the back of her mind, the worst one of all was the screams.

Emily's screams.

No matter what she did, they came closer and closer to her mind, louder and louder. The agonizing sounds of her screaming felt like knives were stabbing into every inch of her body. Then, as if someone had unplugged her ears, Rose slammed back into a horrific reality, and the loud humming that was in her ears was her screaming at the top of her lungs.

Rose was no longer standing but had fallen to the ground at the base of Demetrius's shield, and someone strong was lying on top of her, holding her down. By the feeling of his body and their soul-bond, she knew it was Brooklyn.

He was holding her down and using his wings to keep her from seeing Emily being torn apart.

Screaming as loud as she could, Rose flailed, fought, and clawed at the ground, his skin, and anything else holding her back to get to Emily. Brooklyn continued to hold her down with all of his might. However, his efforts didn't help her. If anything, he made it worse.

Rose had stopped seeing the images of her best friend's flesh being ripped apart the second the slaughter began, but it was the sounds that were haunting her the most.

Brooklyn was trying to speak to her in her ear, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

Flailing around in his arms in a full-on tantrum, Rose continued to scream at the top of her lungs, sobbing, but Brooklyn continued to hold her down, grunting and straining to keep her still. Then, they both heard something that made them freeze.

Emily screamed out her name.

Rose stopped straining, and lying on top of her, Brooklyn was gulping down bile and tears, which had soaked her shoulder.

"ROSE! ROSE! ROOOSSEE!" Emily screaming for mercy was the most heart-wrenching sound over them all.

Using her wings to push Brooklyn off, Rose shot to her feet and pointed the curse blindly at the shield Demetrius created. She didn't know what she was doing, but this was the only thing she could think of. With a blast of power, she destroyed the shield with the death curse.

When it was gone, she pointed the staff at Emily's twitching body underneath the Draugr's grips and shot the curse at her. With another blast of power, her body exploded into ash, and her screams were silenced into a hauntingly, merciful silence.

Gulping down air and bile, Rose staggered a few steps back. She reached her hand blindly back for anyone to keep her from falling apart, and to her relief, Brooklyn's claw found her hand instantly.

When he pulled her into a rip-crushing hug, she sobbed helplessly into his chest and grasped onto his skin as if it was the only thing keeping her on this Earth. Then they felt more bodies hugging them on all sides.

Angela, Broadway, Lexington, Akira, and Ilana were all there. Sobbing.

"It's over," Ilana's voice suddenly whispered against Rose's hair. "It's all over now. Breathe, Rose. Just breathe."

But she wasn't breathing. She couldn't. Not when her best friend was no longer living. It didn't seem right, nor fair, that she was still alive and Emily wasn't.

It wasn't until Brooklyn took a deep breath, exhaled it, and urged in her mind, 'breathe, my love,' did she finally do so. But it still felt wrong.

The air filling her throat and lungs felt like ash. It was ragged, painful, and not enough to quench the pain. When Rose exhaled her breath, it came out in a hoarse scream, which kept coming with every breath. Her sobs, cries, and wails echoed throughout the chamber.

Brooklyn pulled her tighter to him and wished he could fight away all of her fears, screams, and tears, but all he could do was hold her.

Rose's tears spilled down his neck, soaking his skin, and her hand had fisted chunks of his hair, while her other hand gripped onto his skin so roughly, it was as if she was trying to claw him open and hide within his soul forever.

"Rose," he was whispering in her ear, trying to calm himself down, as well as her. "Babe… I… it's-" he stopped and couldn't utter that everything would be okay because it wasn't.

Nothing he could say could make this better, and even if he did find the magical words to make everything better again, it was already too late. Rose had already detached herself from reality and shut down completely. Their bond went as silent as the night she was taken away from him in Hel.

Breathing staggeringly through his tears, Brooklyn cupped the back of her head, shushing her quietly, but the way Emily died left him in unfathomable shock and rage. No longer could he standby and witness such a massacre.

Brooklyn's watery eyes locked onto Demetrius's, bore his teeth menacingly, and to his further rage, Demetrius met his gaze and merely smiled back.

A vicious snarl ripped out from the back of his throat, and he wanted nothing more than to rip Demetrius apart just as Wraith had done to Emily.

Just then, another shriek echoed through the chamber, and his focus moved to another threat. Snarling, drooling, and looking enraged, Wraith suddenly shot across the room for Rose. Seeing him coming, Brooklyn roared out deafeningly, pushed her into one of the other's arms, and jumped in the air to take him on.

Rose whipped around, gasped in a ragged breath, and screamed, "NO! BROOKLYN!" But they were already at each other's throats, rolling around on the ground, snarling, and fighting violently.

It was a horrifying sight.

Brooklyn clocked Wraith's skull a few times, hard enough that shards of bone broke off his face, but it didn't seem to slow him down.

Wraith hissed out a laugh. "What's wrong, Gargoyle? Didn't like that I took that pretty human girl down and ripped her soft body apart? Her flesh was like candy, her blood like a drug… oh, she tasted beautiful. It makes me wonder what your mate's flesh and sweet unborn child will taste like. There's nothing tastier than eating fresh flesh from a womb."

"GAHHHH!" Brooklyn bellowed, coming unhinged, punching Wraith's skull, over and over and over again until there wasn't much of a face left. But still, Wraith wasn't dying or slowing down. It wasn't until Brooklyn's knuckles were bloody and exhaustion took him over for a second before Wraith grinned a broken smile at him.

"My turn?"

Brooklyn's eyes widened as he punched him in the abdomen- like a wrecking ball to a wall. Grunting out, he staggered backward and instantly fell to his knees at the impact. Rose opened her mouth and let out a horrified scream as Wraith rolled over Brooklyn and held down his wrists.

Despite his pain and internal injury, Brooklyn's eyes widened in rage. Dripping from Wraith's maw, was pieces of Emily's flesh, and the blood dripped onto his face.

"Big mistake, Gargoyle scum," Wraith hissed, slowly lowering his teeth to his throat. "Your infernal mate interrupted my feeding, but you will do just nicely. Your skin may be tough, but your blood should be just as sweet as the human's."

Brooklyn was grunting, trying to push Wraith back, but was not strong enough. He shut his eyes when suddenly they were both engulfed in flames.

Gasping, he looked over and saw that Rose had her hand out and fire was streaming out of her body. The moment the fire hit Wraith, he burst into flames, rolled off Brooklyn's body, and began shrieking and howling at the top of his lungs. But, never once did the flames touch or burn his skin.

Rose's eyes were burning as hot as the flames surrounding her, as she hissed, "That's for killing my best friend and hurting my mate, you piece of shit!"

When Wraith's skeleton corpse stopped twitching and went silent, Rose launched herself over to Brooklyn, who quickly stood up and took her in his arms. Gasping out in pain, he hunched over at his abdomen pain, but Rose placed her hand over his stomach, sent healing powers into him and their bond, and willed his injury to fade away.

After a few seconds, he straightened up, cupped her face, and gazed passionately into her eyes. Every time they healed each other, it brought them closer together. However, since this was neither the time nor place for intimacy, Rose simply molded her body to his and held him close.

"Oh, Rose," Brooklyn breathed in her ear and was crying now. "My sweet mate… I'm so sorry…"

Rose knew what he was apologizing for but couldn't speak. She could only wrap her arms around his neck tighter when a roar made them both jump apart.

"FOOLS!"

Demetrius was engulfed in his own firepower, and with his hand out, he magically willed both Excalibur and the staff from hers and Brooklyn's hands.

"NO!" Rose screamed out, but Demetrius caught both of them. After everything they've endured, he got the curse back, as well as Excalibur. Demetrius tossed the staff to Kevin and then advanced on her with Excalibur in his hand.

"Maybe I will just kill you, daughter," he hissed, holding Excalibur up to slay her. "It will make EVERYTHING much easier."

"NO!" Brooklyn instantly pushed her behind him, but Demetrius sent him flying across the room with a blast of power. Yelling, he slammed head-first into a wall and crumbled to the ground. Groaning, he tried to get back up but was too stunned.

Rose gasped out and backed up away from him, and the other gargoyles instantly joined in to defend her.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Staghart suddenly yelled, jumping forward, but Demetrius blasted him away into a nearby wall with another explosion of power, where he crumbled onto his backside painfully.

"AMP!" Coco screamed out, then whirled around and faced Demetrius. "WHY, YEH BASTARD! I'LL HAVE YER HEAD FOR THAT AND WHAT YOU'VE DONE 'ERE!"

With a roar, she jumped forward with many others, but Demetrius threw a shield up in front of them, cutting them off, once again, from rescuing her.

He then whirled around and faced Rose.

"You've been nothing but a pain in my ass!" Demetrius seethed, coming closer to her. "Nothing but a sorry disappointment and excuse for a daughter! With this curse, I will finally have the revenge I've always wanted, and not even your stupid hybrid child appeals to me anymore. I now only long to see your and your child's souls ripped away from that asinine soul-bond to your mate and drowned in the river of lost souls! "

"NOOOOO!" Brooklyn bellowed from the ground, and with a strained roar, he launched himself towards them again, but Demetrius created a shield for him too. He slammed against it, crumbled to the ground, then instantly began pounding on it, screaming, "NOOOO! ROSE! NOOOOO!"

But, Rose didn't have anything more to say to him or Demetrius.

Standing her ground, she watched her father raise the sword to stab into her heart, then closed her eyes.

"Good-bye, my daughter," Demetrius hissed.

She waited for the sword to stab into her chest, but then, without warning, someone screamed out, "NO!"

Rose opened her eyes right as Hela suddenly threw herself in front of her and the magical blade went straight through her heart instead.

Rose gasped in shock and recoiled back as blood sprayed all over her face- but it wasn't hers.

Demetrius's amber eyes widened in shock and horror, and for the first time, he looked genuinely horrified at the scene before him.

Gasping and choking on the blood in her chest and lungs, Hela grasped onto Demetrius's hand and gasped out his name.

Pulling the sword out of her chest, Demetrius stared at the stream of blood flowing from her chest in shock and horror. Then, he threw Excalibur down, scooped Hela into his arms, and collapsed with her as she crumbled to the ground.

"No, no, no," he moaned, trying to staunch her wound, but it was too late; she was dying. And as the God of Death, he couldn't save her life, especially not from the magical blade of Excalibur. "No, Hela… my Queen…!"

At his words, Hela gazed up into his eyes and exhaled out a ragged breath. With a great effort, she then whispered, "I… am not your Queen... anymore."

Shock filled his entire being at her words, but then after a few seconds, a dark coolness took over. She was finally free from his mind control.

"So, you have betrayed me as well, my Queen? How did you escape my magic?"

Hela's body shuddered violently as blood oozed from her mouth. But, she smiled at him as she whispered, "Love. A mother's love, that's how. Something… you'll never understand."

Letting her body go in slight disgust, Demetrius stumbled away from her and looked at the blood on his hands as he went, but Hela instantly looked over at Rose, seeking her out.

"Rose," she choked out, drowning in her blood. Rose awkwardly stumbled forward and fell by her side. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."

Unsure how to feel, Rose shakily took her hand anyway, and right as she did, hot tears burned in her eyes.

"Mother…"

"Y-you were right." Hela gurgled on blood again, then gasped out, "you were r-right about me. I… I have changed." With another labored breath, she couldn't seem to breathe anymore, so she forced out the rest of her thoughts in a frantic breath. "I love you, my daughter. I'm sorry I- I didn't step in and stop all of this madness before now. But, I'm free now from your father's hold. I am sorry."

"Shh, mom, it's okay," Rose tried to soothe her, but Hela grasped her hands tightly. Stopping her from speaking.

"Rose, my sweet, beautiful daughter, you are Avalon's only hope now. Promise me that you will fight against this evil, my daughter. Take my place, and protect Avalon. I… I'm sorry I wasn't able to. I couldn't fight past your father's control, but you can and must now! This prophecy was referring to you, Rose. It never was about me."

Rose exhaled out a sob and shook her head. "What are you-?"

"Once I die… you will be the Goddess of Death the prophecy has been referring to, my daughter," Hela whispered. "You are the one who will bring balance to this world, not me."

"M-me?" Numbing shock took over Rose as Hela pulled her closer to her face and spoke to her in a breathy whisper.

"Promise me that you will burn your father's world to the ground, and show him… who you truly are… and the strong warrior I know you to be."

Rose let out a dry sob, and the pain in her chest was unbearable now. She was unsure how much pain and death she could take and witness in one night.

"I don't know how."

Hela's ragged breathing slowed down alarmingly, but she smiled at her, touched her face gently, and whispered, "You do. My darling daughter… you do know-" she faltered, and then her eyes rolled up into her head, and her breathing came in rattles.

Being a past paramedic, and seeing her adoptive mother, Evelyn, die from cancer, Rose knew that Hela had mere seconds left.

"Mother," Rose said, shaking her. "No, please… please, don't go. Stay with me. Don't leave me."

Saying those words, for some reason, shattered her broken heart even more. No matter how much pain Hela had put her through, that evil Faerie wasn't the same person she was holding and comforting as she was dying, now.

Rose didn't want to have to say goodbye to another person she loved and cared about. Not when there was so much, she still wanted to tell her mother, memories to share, and time to make up.

Sobbing, Rose froze and then suddenly remembered about her healing magic. Acting fast, she placed her hand upon Hela's chest and then closed her eyes to focus on healing her-

"No." Hela grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Let me go, Rose. Adrian's here for me now. You were right about him too. He never left me, nor stopped loving me."

Through her tears, Rose looked down at her mother but saw the hope, love, and light in her eyes, and it brought her peace. For a split second, Helena was back, and she was being brought home by the love of her life.

"Then go with him," Rose whispered in a sob, moving some black hair away from her pale face. "Go with Adrian. It's okay. I'll be okay. I… I love you, mom."

"I love you too... my beautiful… Rose."

With another gasping gurgle, Hela's eyes rolled back into her head, but she didn't die. Instead, she suddenly screwed up her face in an effort and held a weak and shaking hand up above her head. "B-behind y-you."

Rose turned to see what she was doing, and to her utmost shock, Hela was summoning open a portal using her last dying breath and strength.

A red, wispy smoke-like portal pulsed and ripped open in the middle of the room.

Then, a familiar deafening roar shook Rose's bones, and she gasped and watched a massive figure come through the portal.

Her Manticore was here.

He was a majestic beast with black fur, a lion's face, the body of a massive wolf, horns from a ram, and a scorpion's tail. His sharp fangs gnashed upon seeing Demetrius, and his empty, glowing white eyes locked on him.

Demetrius gasped in absolute fear, backed up, but the Manticore roared, shaking the walls of the castle, pounced on him, and took him down to the ground.

Rose cried out in relief and couldn't believe it; her Manticore beast was alive! But the surprises didn't end there.

The portal pulsed more, and suddenly the entire clan of beasts thundered into the room. Their sharp and strong jaws were clenched, their growls were like deep thunder, and despite how ferocious they looked, Rose knew they were saved.

She looked down into Hela's face with a smile, about to thank her and celebrate this change of events, but then froze. Her body went heavy and limp in Rose's arms, eyes were closed, and her head fell limply to the side right as she stopped breathing.

Then, the portal shut, and her magic died with her.

Minutes could have passed by, or hours or days even as Rose stared down into her mother's peaceful face. She could have been sleeping if she used her imagination strong enough, but the strong metallic twang of blood filled her nostrils and kept bringing her back to the cruel reality.

Resting her head upon Hela's chest, Rose started sobbing anew and could have stayed with her mother for the rest of the night. The pain was too much, and she was physically sick of seeing and enduring the death of a loved one. Sick of the familiar gnawing and numbing pain of her heart being ripped out.

Sobbing and gasping for air, Rose wanted to pass out and float to an endless world of peace or into a dream. She didn't want to feel anything anymore.

Her grieving was cut short when a blast of white light suddenly blinded her.

Blinking, she raised her head off Hela's chest and covered her sensitive eyes from the light, but when she opened them again, her body jolted in shock.

Hela's body was gone.

She nearly screamed in panic but stopped when a floating trail of beautiful, golden specks of energy, light, and magic took its place and floated in the air above her head.

Rose gasped and knew instantly that it was fragments of Hela's soul. The light and magic danced in the air for a moment, as if showing her that she was finally at peace, before it faded like dying embers, then disappeared.

When it was over, Rose found herself shaking violently, from head to toe, too overwhelmed to process anything more. On the ground, Hela's bright red blood was soaking her knees and battlesuit, and she was left numb and empty as she stared at it. Void of anything more to give or feel.

Emily was dead. Hela was dead, as were so many of the Children of Avalon, including Oberon and Titania. But, this war wasn't over yet. More death was coming, and despite that alarming fact, she began to process what just happened with her mother.

Hela had found the strength to break past Demetrius's mental hold and sacrificed her life for hers as Brooklyn had once done.

The turning of events was astronomical.

Rose continued to process this and barely felt someone touch her shoulder. From out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the light green skin with golden swirls tattooed on her skin and guessed it was Ilana.

"Rose… are you-?"

But, she couldn't tear her eyes away from staring at the pools of blood from Hela and Emily's bodies.

Silence passed between everyone for a moment before Demetrius grunted out a roar and exploded her Manticore beast off him with his power.

Launching to his feet, Demetrius closed his bloody fists, turned to face Rose, and grabbed his staff. He opened his mouth in a snarl, looked over at Kevin, who had Excalibur, but before he could give any order, Puck suddenly willed the sword from Kevin's hands, caught it, and wielded a shield in front of himself.

But, amazingly, Demetrius didn't seem to care about the sword anymore. His flaming amber eyes had shifted, changed, and darkened as he stared at Rose, and it was clear that he had realized that, with the Manticore clan there, he was finally outnumbered and outgunned.

"I'll be waiting at the hills, just outside of the Castle grounds," Demetrius whispered to her in a low and dangerous voice. "I want you, your Gargoyles, your Manticore beasts, and all of Avalon to be there to witness the curse being unveiled to the world. If you fight me, then I'll happily let my armies tear yours apart." He gritted his teeth at her and stepped closer to her.

"After tonight's events, there will be no mercy given from me. I want blood. I want gore, and I want all living souls to suffer a slow, painful, and excruciating death."

More silence followed his words, and nobody uttered a breath. Rose's Manticore beast slowly crawled up behind her in protection, snarling, growling, and piercing his empty white eyes at Demetrius's.

After a few seconds, Rose somehow looked up into his face and found her voice; however, when she spoke, it was so low that she barely recognized it as her.

"If that is what you want, then that is exactly what you will get."

Demetrius raised his hand and portaled Demona, Kevin, and the Draugr out of the room with a blinding flash of light, leaving him alone with Rose, the Manticores, Gargoyles, and the rest of Avalon's children in deadly silence.

He snarled his fangs at her before leaving the room in an explosion of power. "See you on the battlefield, then... Goddess of Death."